Box Score YORK, PA – The York College women's basketball squad staged a furious fourth quarter come back only to fall just short as nationally ranked Christopher Newport edged the Spartans 75-72 in Capital Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon in York.
The Spartans erased a 20-point deficit early in the fourth quarter but just ran out of magic as the Captains scored five of the final seven points of the game to secure the win. The loss snaps York's season high four game win streak.
Game #15
Records: York 10-5 (6-1 CAC), #11 CNU 13-2 (7-1 CAC)
Score: York 72, CNU 75
Field Goals: York 23-for-65, CNU 25-for-69
Field Goal %: York 35.4%, CNU 26.2%
Three Point Field Goals: York 5-for-18, CNU 3-for-13
Three Point FG %: York 27.8%, CNU 23.1%
Free Throws: York 21-for-22, CNU 22-for-30
Free Throw %: York 95.5%, CNU 73.3%
Rebounds: York 48, CNU 44
Assists: York 14, CNU 14
Turnovers: York 20, CNU 16
Blocked Shots: York 7, CNU 2
Steals: York 7, CNU 10
How It Happened:
• The Spartans got off to a solid start as they led 5-2 less than two minutes into the game. It would be all CNU the rest of the opening quarter as they outscored York 14-4 to take a 16-9 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. York struggled to take care of the ball as they had seven turnovers in the quarter which led to six Captain points.
• The Captains scored the first four points of the second quarter to take an 11-point lead. The Spartans cut the Captain lead to nine three times in the quarter before CNU pushed the lead up to 15 at 30-15 with 5:15 left in the opening half. York ended the quarter with a small 10-5 spurt, cutting CNU's lead to 35-25 at the intermission. It could have been a much bigger deficit as York again struggled to take care of the ball. York had nine turnovers in the quarter but fortunately, CNU was only able to record six points off the Spartan mistakes.
• The third quarter saw the Captains maintain their lead in double figures for a majority of the period. York cut it to nine but the Captains answered back 23 seconds later to push the lead back to double digits. The Captains increased the lead to 18 heading to the fourth as it looked like the Spartans were going to be on the wrong side of a lopsided score.
• CNU got a Micah Maloney lay up just over five seconds into the fourth quarter to push the lead to a game-high 20 points. York began their comeback on their ensuing possession as Katie McGowan nailed a pair of free throws. Those free throws started a staggering 20-0 run that turned York's 20-point deficit into a tie game with 1:54 left in regulation. McGowan was a huge part of the run as she notched eight of the 20 points while Katie Wagner added five. Freshman Kayla Ferris capped the run with a clutch triple with 1:54 left on the clock.
• CNU regained the lead on their next possession as Zhara Tannor hit a lay up 13 seconds after the Ferris three, putting CNU up 72-20. Tannor had a chance at a three-point play but missed the free throw as McGowan collected the rebound. York committed a turnover on the next possession but the Captains were unable to convert with 1:11 left in the game. After a missed shot by Ferris, the York defense forced a shot clock violation with 24 seconds left in the game. McGowan had a good look in the post but her shot just bounced off the rim and Tannor collected the rebound. York was then forced to foul and Makenzie Fancher split the two free throws, giving York a chance to tie with a three with 14 seconds left. Molly Day converted a lay up with eight seconds left and York was again forced to foul. This time Fancher made both as York had one final chance to tie with six seconds left. Ferris had to rush a three point shot from about 30 feet but the shot just rimmed out and York would be unable to get off another shot as they fell in heartbreaking fashion.
• After having 16 first half turnovers, York had just four in the second half.
Spartan Leaders
Katie McGowan: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots
Katie Wagner: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocked shot, 4 steals
Molly Day: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
Kayla Ferris: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Christopher Newport Leaders
Makenzie Fancher: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Zhara Tannor: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Bailey Dufrene: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Game Notes:
The Captains lead the all-time series 10-5 as they have won six straight against the Spartans … York's last win came on February 24, 2015 in Newport News when York won 73-65 after trailing by 18 points in the first half … York broke a school record as they went 21-for-22 from the free throw line (95.5%), breaking the previous record of .950 vs. Catholic on January 19, 2005 (19-for-20) … the 21 made free throws were the Spartans' third highest total of the year (25 vs. Rowan and 23 at Wesley) … York won the battle on the glass, 48-44 … the 48 rebounds were the second-highest total of the year (49 at Wesley) … York is now 3-4 when trailing at the half … the loss is just the second home loss for the Spartans as they are now 6-2 at Wolf Gymnasium … the Spartans suffered just their second loss when outrebounding their opponent as they are 6-2 when that happens … York is now 0-3 when they block five more shots in a game as they had a season-high seven in the game … junior Katie McGowan had her fourth 20-plus point performance of the year as she led all scorers with 22 points in the game … McGowan is averaging 19.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocked shots per game in her last three games … senior Katie Wagner continues her strong play as she reached double figures for the sixth game in a row and the 12th time this year … Wagner tied her career-high with her eight rebounds, a mark she has reached two other times in her career … Wagner now has 951 career points as she is 49 points away from joining the 1,000 career point club … freshman Molly Day reached double figures for the second straight game while she also pulled in a career-high eight rebounds in the game … Day has scored double figures in four games for the Spartans .. freshman Kayla Ferris tied her career-high with seven rebounds, the third time she has reached that mark this year.
Up Next:
The Spartans head back out on the road for a three game trip starting on Wednesday night when they head to St. Mary's City, Maryland to face the Seahawks in a CAC contest. Tip time will be at 8:00 pm as the women will follow the men in a flipped conference twin bill.
Audio Highlights courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans
